Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-01-29
ALGERINES.

1 hhoTo Hrb nuuuT6U8 OI bR6f1u09 olOuR tOe
Susquebanna river from tide water up 10 thu
junction Of the Juniata
Now you ASK, What IL an aigerine ?"
He will never he driven from his manner
of living, nor could . regiment Of mission.
aries persuade him to abandon II. There are
hsrtiships connected with his avocation seem.
ingly beyond endurance and the infreq uent
seasons OF relief from suffering are obviously
very brief His hut In usually where an hon.
est man could not build and maintain q
home squattsd at the base Of q wooded hill,
among the rocks, just above the high water
mark. The house must he 30 situated, how
ever, that an uninterrupted view OF the
stream up and down can be had from the
port window. 1t IL necessary for him 70
know when anybody In navigating or when
the coast is clear. That long and wide sheet
Ia the field Of conquest upon its surface
float bread and beneath are the isheA
| A PARTICULAR SPECIMEN.
Several miles below Harrisburg, on the
York county shore, there live (probably only
exist family whose silver.haired paternal
| governor 10 q typical character. His imme-
diste ancestors we're German emigrants, who
| settled upon q plantation I'm the northern
part Of this county early in the present GEN.
| tury. Not having an inclination to pursue
fortune an an agriculturist, the subject Of
this sketch, when yet in his teens, packed
together some " duds " and came TO this city
TO learn carpentering. After serving appren-
ticeship he returned to the farm, but could
not be induced TO put hand to any kind OF
labor. Fishing and cunning were about ali
that received his attention. During the trips
over the hills in quest OF game he met the
daughter OF gypsies, and, before the nom ads
smothered the fire to change camp, their mar
riage, according to some form, was consum.
mated. He accompanied the party without
the knowledge OF his parents. The next
stop was near Middletown, and at night the
pair escaped to the borough. Thev ksnt CON.
cesled for short time, but when their late
companions again pulled stakes and depart
cd, they began q SHIFT that is new nearing an
end. He was employed there at his trade,
aud soon had improved the abandoned log
hut they appropriated so that 1t was quite
comfortable to them.
WHEN THE CHANGE CAME.
A decade elapsed before he thought OF
visiting the fireside Of his youth, and while
leisurely approaching the homestead he no
ticed two graves enclosed by a carelessly
built stone fence. There upon the cold
brown slabs were chiseed the names Of his
parents, aud the record beneath them showed
they had been dead i've years He clam
bered quickly over the high wall, but after |
gazing few minutes through q rush Of tears
ut the sodded mounds all desire for going to |
the house had fed. He retrsced the jour |
ney, and from that day dates his title as an |
algerine
BY nightfsll the family and the few arti.
cles of household goods we're gathered into |
canoe and landed below the Cumberland /
line in York county. His associates could |
not account for the sudden disappearance OF
their fellow. craftsman, and 1t was a mystery |
for several years They subsisted wholly |
upon game, fish, berries, roots, ETC., for
weeks, and were without shelter until tim
ber was cut and a hut erected
SOURCES OF REVENUE.
Fishing Is the only work which brings in
sure return. He can catch when everybody
fails TO get bite indeed, he often captures
fish, box, anchor, lock, chain and all in
night trip. The Harrisburg anglers who 60
down TO the islands patroniZe him literally, |
buying either fish or bait.
A good-siZed treshet always brings down |
loose timber, both round and |
squared. For each stick the law allows the
person securing 1t a certain sum, which Is
paid by the owners OF the estray property.
When the water subsidies an agent of tie
stamp on the top OF the log. The slgerine
gets two prices for his by this trick After
his log is stamped and paid for he turns 1t SO
that the water covers the sign then, to
hole Is bored down to the centre and plugged.
The air changes the balance Of the log, and
when the timber collector comes to that one
not marked he cannot remove 1t until paying
tne catcnlnR price. VI course IL requires |
some tine work to fit plug thst will not be
detected, but he has performed the surgical
operation on hundreds.
Another high. handed way OF gathering
few shecksls into his purse is to have an
emissary go up the river at night eight or ten
miles during the rising of the water, put the
rinRstone into boat and send 1t adrift- The
slgerine is ready to secure the prize, ana
when the owner calls for the craft he is told |
that the anchor was lifted by the buoyancy OF
the boat and carried until shallow bar was
reached, where he found 1t lodged. HIS
theory is plain enough, and the reward is
handed over.
As said before, fishing Is the principal
work to depend upon, but hunting and trap
ping there is profitable, too, and he Is an
dept ut both. In the fall he goes on several
excursions with his boat, bringing 1t back
loaded to the whaling with corn, pumpkins |
and all kinds of vegetables, which Is stored |
in a cavern for winter use. The farmers are |
oons scious of losing these prod ucts, but are at
a loss to know bv whom they are taken.
When the Northern Central railroad, |
which runs along the river there, was being |
built, the contractors sought his services, Of |
fering nearly double the wages given their |
port his family with better means than he |
seemed to employ. As he does not cultivate |
q foot of ground, 1t was always q my stery 10 |
the railroaders how the table WAS kept filled. |
That day when ne went back to the farm to |
ask the forR Riveness of his parents q vow was |
made to avoid everyb body possible and de- |
cline all offers for hire ; Ii will always be |
kept.
Each of the slgerines has q reason for not |
joining the laborer or skilled artisan. Their |
lives are about despicabls "a those of the |
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